Wherever his dancers stepped onto a stage, Jerome Robbins made audiences forget what had been danced there before.

When the choreographer worked in the theater or on film - as he did with West Side Story, The King and I, Fiddler on the Roof, Peter Pan, Gypsy and others - new worlds opened up.

Robbins made similar breakthroughs in ballet. His pas de deux, Afternoon of a Faun, still resonates with lovely, suppressed eroticism.

That amazing body of work comes to life in an engrossing two-hour documentary, Jerome Robbins: Something to Dance About, airing Wednesday on Rocky Mountain PBS.

We also gain a detailed account of this complex man who was loved and feared - but always respected - by everyone who worked with him. Thanks to the cleareyed direction of Judy Kinberg and the no-nonsense writing by Robbins' biographer Amanda Vaill (narrated by Ron Rifkin), a complete portrait emerges.

Intrigued with his sister's early association with modern-dance pioneer Isadora Duncan, young Jerome Rabinowitz (born in New York in 1918) casually fell into a life in the theater. At first an athletic dancer, he turned to choreography in similarly uneventful fashion. Quickly his genius began to flower.

The program pays properly lengthy attention to his first balletic masterpiece, Fancy Free, which astonished audiences with its American premise: Three sailors on leave in New York drink and flirt in a downtown bar. Film of the original cast is skillfully blended with a recent performance.

But it was in the musical theater where Robbins became a household name. Again, Kinberg goes into rich detail on the creation of such classics as West Side Story and Fiddler. The background of each production is fleshed out through on-screen interviews with Stephen Sondheim, Rita Moreno, Chita Rivera and others.

More fascinating glimpses are provided by Broadway giants Jerry Bock, Sheldon Harnick, Joseph Stein and Arthur Laurents, who all collaborated with the choreographer.

What a contrast between the gentle side of Robbins, shown in interviews with the late dance-maker, and the pointed observations by those forced to perform to his exacting standards, no matter how many rehearsals it took.

Nonetheless, there's obvious affection in the comments from dance greats Suzanne Farrell, Peter Martins, Jacques d'Amboise and Mikhail Baryshnikov, who also address the fascinating contrasts between Robbins and his illustrious contemporary George Balanchine.

A dark chapter in Robbins' life is addressed in detail. His homosexuality (he'd had an affair with actor Montgomery Clift) came into play during House Un-American Activities Committee hearings in the 1950s. Threatened with being "outed," Robbins agreed to name eight artists associated with the Communist Party (he was once a member). One of those, actress Madeline Lee Gilford, widow of actor Jack Gilford, shows no forgiveness 50 years after she and her husband were fingered.

Politics and personality aside, the legacy of Robbins remains untarnished. Ten years after his death, we still marvel at the invention, energy, beauty and sheer American charm of his dances.

Shulgoldm@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5296

Jerome Robbins Something to Dance About

* Grade: A

* What: An American Masters documentary about choreographer Jerome Robbins.

* When and where: 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, KRMA-Channel 6, Rocky Mountain PBS